Thursday, April 30, 2009

The Joy of Exclamation MarksStuart Jeffries of the Guardian has a fun and insightful look at the history and recent renaissance of the exclamation mark. OMG!!! :-)

Cleaning Up the Men's MessPolitics in Iceland have taken an interesting turn recently in the wake of the spectacular financial meltdown that's brought the country to its current crisis state — and now having women at the helm is seen by many as the best chance for Iceland to solve its problems. Fascinating moment in political history.

Traditional Home Bedroom SweepstakesNathan emailed me yesterday about The Traditional Home Bedroom Sweepstakes — a chance for one lucky person to win a $20,000 professional bedroom makeover from the magazine. It's underway now, and you can enter as often as you like before the deadline of June 21. The winner will be announced on or around July 2.

Le MoulinScottish expatriate Sarah began her Le Moulin blog as a way of keeping friends and family up to date on the gradual restoration of the old watermill she and her husband BB own in a small rural village in the French Alps. Gradually Sarah's love of food has crept in, and now it's a tantalizing blend of wonderful recipes as well as stories of living and renovating in the French countryside.

Mid-Century StunnersBiba at inspiration bubble had a great post a while ago featuring gorgeous mid-century modern interiors — definitely worth a revisit. Awesome.

Japan Tidies Up ParisApparently, “Japan syndrome” hits about 10 Japanese tourists to Paris a year. Thomas White describes it as when "... its victims are so disappointed at the dirty streets and rude waiters that they succumb to a nervous breakdown at the idea of having wasted a week of leave and savings on a trip to the City of Lights." Read the rest of his article to find out the unusual solution to this condition devised by a group of 20 Japanese expatriates in Paris.

Donna Hay RecipesThe wonderful Donna Hay has lots of great recipes on her website — have a look here for quick (and frequently quick to make) inspiration.

BibliOdyssey has a great post of Ronald Searle's illustrations for his 1983 book The Illustrated Winespeak: Ronald Searle’s Wicked World of Winetasting, which satirises the jargon of the would-be wine connoisseur. You can see more images from Winespeak here.